Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Puppy Maniac

Nehi is a sweet puppy. She is my bebe. She is the center of my world.
She's also a very large dog, with some breed specific characteristics.

She's also (like me) a creature of habit. So when her behavior changes I pay attention.
The last couple of weeks, Nehi has a new routine. Around 5 or 6p, she lays down by the front door and whines. And cries.

She stares at me. I don't know why. It's not our walk time. It's not her dinner time. But this is her new nightly thing.
Add to this two other events that happened this week:

Nehi and I were playing in the yard, we stopped, Nehi wanted to continue, so she right-hooked me right in the mouth.

This morning, playing with Dragon on the bed, Nehi clamped down on my wrist.

Now, because of her size, and breeds, Nehi has been trained to have a soft mouth. Which I am thankful for, because she got me with the back teeth, where the power is, and if she'd come down with full force, that would have hurt a lot more than it did.

On a side note- I've now determined that I could be murdered in my apartment and no one would notice, as I screamed bloody murder when she did this and there was no reaction from my neighbors.

I don't know what's with this behavior change. She's also barking A LOT to try and get my attention (not her stranger-danger protection bark, the pay-attention-to-me-now bark). I'm home all the time now that it's summer. Because I'm home, except for rare days (like last night when it was still 87 degrees at 830p) she gets two solid walks a day, plus playtime in the yard/house.

So I don't know why she's suddenly acting like this.

Maybe she's just acclimating to me being home all the time? Home = pay attention to me?

Maybe she's not getting enough exercise? We take a 1.2 mile walk in the morning and a .6 mile walk in the evening. I tend to not push these distances because of heat, and I'm always aware of her knee/ACL issues (why we don't run). But, we also walk at 6a and 730-8p, so maybe up the walk distance? On days we go to the park, I also try to review her obedience training.

Maybe we should sign up for more obedience training? There are some dog training centers close by, and they're not super expensive (roughly $10/class for an eight week class). BUT, until the house sells, I'm watching every penny.

It feels like restless energy that needs to be focused. But she's my first bebe, so I don't know. Friends with dogs, vets- what do you think? Suggestions?